Nigerian Exchange Grows 1.26% to Opens Week Positive

By Dipo Olowookere

The first trading session of the week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited finished on a positive note as it closed 1.26 per cent higher.

The growth was influenced by buying interests in shares in the industrial goods sector, especially Dangote Cement and others.

Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 528.15 points to 42,411.12 points from 41,882.97 points, while the market capitalisation rose by N275 billion to N22.130 trillion from N21.855 trillion.

Meyer ended the session as the best-performing stock after its value went up by 9.09 per cent to 36 kobo, followed by Academy Press, which appreciated by 8.15 per cent to 51 kobo.

FTN Cocoa rose by 8.11 per cent to 40 kobo, GlaxoSmithKline grew by 7.08 per cent to N6.05, while MTN Nigeria gained 7.05 per cent to sell for N186.80.

NASCON closed the session as the worst-performing stock after its price declined by 6.79 per cent to N13.05 and was trailed by Cornerstone Insurance, which fell by 6.00 per cent to 47 kobo.

Coronation Insurance depreciated by 5.88 per cent to 48 kobo, Oando declined by 4.26 per cent to N4.72, while Champion Breweries went down by 4.06 per cent to N2.60.

The most active stock yesterday was Unity Bank as it traded 48.3 million units worth N20.5 million and was trailed by Universal Insurance, which sold 21.1 million units valued at N4.2 million.

FBN Holdings transacted 19.9 stocks valued at N235.2 million, UPDC REIT traded 16.9 million shares worth N75.8 million, while GTCO exchanged 12.8 million equities for N336.8 million.

At the close of business, investors traded 229.6 million shares worth N3.3 billion in 4,426 deals compared with the 444.9 million shares worth N3.3 billion transacted in 3,594 deals, signifying a decline in the trading volume and value by 48.39 per cent and 3.92 per cent respectively, while the number of deals grew by 23.15 per cent.

In terms of the performance of the sectors, the industrial goods index rose by 0.66 per cent, while the energy, banking, insurance and consumer goods counters depreciated by 0.86 per cent, 0.47 per cent, 0.15 per cent and 0.05 per cent respectively.